An in-depth investigation into alleged links between Georges-Louis Bouchez, leader of Belgium's Mouvement Reformateur party, and the gambling industry made waves in Belgium’s Dutch-speaking media in March. But the story was promptly taken down after reaching Francophone press a couple of weeks after publication in Dutch media.
Last month, Dutch-language newspaper Humo reported that several MPs sitting in Federal Parliament had voiced concerns about Bouchez's ties to powerful gambling lobbies, which have been subjected to more stringent regulation since 2022. The French-speaking liberal reportedly guided party policy to significantly favour these lobbies, for instance through securing exemptions on advertising bans for amateur sports clubs – among them Les Francs Borains de Bossu, a football club of which he is president.
When French-language magazine Moustique published an article relaying the same information as that disclosed in Humo, the content was swiftly removed from the magazine's online site.
Bonjour @moustiquemag . Cet article, décrivant les liens entre le secteur des paris sportifs et le MR, a disparu de votre site. Plusieurs sources attribuent cette disparition à un coup de fil du Président du MR à votre direction. Si c'est vrai, c'est très grave. Qu'en est-il ? https://t.co/4l1f9ETqRU
— Gilles Vanden Burre (@GillesVdBurre) April 3, 2024
Translation: Hello @moustiquemag. This article, outlining the links between the betting industry and MR, has disappeared from your site. Several sources attribute this disappearance to a phone call from MR President to your management. If this is true, it is very serious. What's going on?
The fact that Bouchez is an advocate for gambling lobbying objectives is "nothing new", Écolo party leader Gilles Vanden Burre told The Brussels Times.
"This has been a topic of discussion in the Federal Parliament for years now," he said. "The Moustique article was just a translation of Humo's important work; it was published in the morning and taken down in the afternoon."
Moustique did not respond to a request for comment when contacted.
"This is a question of governance," Vanden Burre believes. "The power that lobbying groups exercise is a major concern for the political decision-making process in a democracy."
'The boss said no'
Testimonies of political figures collected by Humo reveal Bouchez's individual influence on MR's opposition to regulation of the gambling industry.
"At one meeting, MR MPs admitted they had nothing to say against our arguments," Vooruit party leader Melissa Depraetere said. "But they had to call Bouchez again and again to ask for his consent. Then they came back with their tails between their legs: 'The boss said no'."
Former MR MP and current BAGO lobbyist Damien Thiéry (Left), MR party leader Georges-Louis Bouchez (Right). Credit: Belga / X.
Outside his political career, Bouchez is also a rally driver and is sponsored by Ladbrokes. In addition, former MR MP Damien Thiéry now lobbies for Belgian Association of Gaming Operators (BAGO), which represents six of Belgium's largest betting companies: Betfirst, Napoleon, Starcasino, Golden Palace, Ardent and Kindred. These companies make up 70% of market.
Resistance to regulation
Gambling has exploded in popularity among Belgians in recent years, with the number of online bets placed each day jumping from 63,000 in 2010 to 141,000 in 2022. This can be explained by the legalisation of online gambling in 2010, as well as a relaxation of advertising rules in 2021. In the same year, the number of people gambling rose from 800,000 to 2.1 million.
The social consequences of gambling became more pronounced in tandem with these upward trends. Between 5 and 7% of gamblers are at risk of dependency and addicts are five times more likely to commit suicide than the general public. Research also suggests that these harmful effects are most concentrated in disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
Lawmakers have responded by attempting to regulate the industry. Former Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) issued a royal decree to ban advertising in March 2022, with MR leading the fight against the bill.
"As Justice Minister, I had the right to take that measure on my own through a royal decree," Van Quickenborne said. "But Bouchez made it a headline issue: anything that could harm the gambling sector had to be discussed at the Council of Ministers."
MR argues that such measures could be "counter-productive" and can lead to "a loss of control of the market". The party prefers to allow the industry to "self-regulate".
